Scrum-half was a bit-part player in England’s failed World Cup campaign
despite being first choice a year before

Danny Care is still mystified as to how he ended up as a bit-part player in England’s failed World Cup campaign. This time last year, Care was heading into the autumn internationals as England’s first-choice scrum-half, having finished the 2014 Six Nations as the northern hemisphere’s form No 9.

Then came the match against South Africa. What should have been the sweetest moment of his career on the occasion of his 50th cap turned sour quickly when Care was picked off by Jan Serfontein for an intercept try.

It was a bad mistake as the Harlequins captain readily admits, but the “credit in the bank” that Stuart Lancaster makes a point of providing suddenly turned red. The 28-year-old was told by the England coaches that they were going to experiment in the next match against Samoa by promoting Ben Youngs and Richard Wigglesworth.

“I was obviously really disappointed to drop from first choice to third choice overnight,” Care said. “I didn’t really understand the decision behind it and it did hurt. I felt like I would have added a bit if they had given me a chance but it wasn’t to be. I just felt I didn’t deserve for that to happen to me. I did not feel I had played badly enough for that to happen. In the two games I felt I had done OK against two of the best teams in the world. I think that one mistake was maybe the one that killed me.

“The coaches have got people knocking on their door the whole time to play and I am currently in that position. The decision to knock me down from first to third I have queried a lot with the coaches. They just said the other lads deserved a chance.

“I think at the time Youngs was second choice and Wiggy was third and I seemed to get shunted down to third, which I thought was harsh. I was in a very frustrating position not being able to help the team. I felt I could offer them something that they did not really have at the time.”

Clearly, any player left out of the match-day squad will feel they deserved better. What is concerning from Care’s testimony is that he was not given clear reasons why he fell out of the 23. This tallies with reports that George Ford was never provided with an explanation as to why he made way for Owen Farrell in the crunch World Cup matches against Wales and Australia.

Having first been coached by Lancaster as a 15-year-old at Leeds’s academy, Care has no axe to grind. He would also happily add his thoughts to the Rugby Football Union review that will decide Lancaster’s future.

“I don’t hold any grudges for not being picked,” Care said. “That won’t blur my judgment in terms of my opinions of the squad and the environment. As players we are happy to help with any opinions and I am open to answer any questions they want to ask of me. We will have to see if they come knocking.”

“You get knocked out of a World Cup and it is a horrible, horrible feeling for something that you have been waiting for four years,” Care said. “But then you go home and your little boy runs to the front door and gives you a hug. He does not have a clue what’s going on. He looks at you and he smiles and you are happy again. That helps you put everything into perspective.

“As a player you have to get back to your club, perform well and switch off from England duty. I have got three solid months now with the club to hopefully play well and stake your claim for the Six Nations and the chance to pull back on an England shirt.”